The invention relates to the field of surgical devices. At present, in order to close incisions into a human or an animal, both permanent and retention sutures are used. In particular, procedures involving repair of tears to knee and shoulder cartilages, the torn cartilage may be sewn together or affixed to bone.
The sutures in these, and other, surgical procedures are typically held in place by a knot or by conventional suture attachment devices in combination with one or more tissue fasteners. Many conventional suture attachment devices are complex and involve manipulating multi-component systems within a small surgical space. Another problem associated with the use of conventional suture attachment devices is that many of them only operate with a single suture filament and offer a limited degree of tension between the tissue members and/or between tissue members and bone.